This week I thought I would try to find out a little more about the wife of Benjamin Foss, Sarah Mitchell. Especially since there is a discrepancy with the Machias books stating her name is Sarah Getchell versus Sarah Mitchell. Is she a Mitchell or Getchell? I went to Google books to start my search. I found a couple of sources, but I think this one is going to be a little tough to track down.

The first book I found with some lead information was Old Kittery and Her Families by Everett Stackpole. On page 610 the genealogy of the Mitchell family can be found.

William Mitchell marred before 1702 Honor ——-, (2) before 1715 Elizabeth, dau. of John Tenny of Kittery and Scarborough. He lived at the Isles of Sholes and at Black Point, Scarborough, where he was killed by Indians in his field 17 April 1724. Widow Elizabeth married Benjamin Haskins, and was living in 1748. Deeds show the following children “of William Mitchel of Scarborough, formerly of Kittery.”

I found this read interesting for a couple of reasons. 1) If I am related to the Mitchell’s a grandfather of mine was killed Indians, This interesting part is that I am also a descendant of sachem Autumsquin. 2) Is Israel Mitchell or Joseph Getchell the father of Sarah, which was Benjamin’s wife? This is where the confusion lies.

I figured I should go back to see if there were any matches in the Church records in Scarborough for the Mitchell family. Below is what I found in the Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder, VI.

In Volume III of the Maine Historical and Genealogical Recorder I found the marriage of Israel Mitchell and Mary Berry. I also found the remarriage to Joseph Getchell that was mentioned in the book Old Kittery and Her Families.

In Volume VIII of The Maine Historical Magazine there is a section called Notes of Machias. This section is further evidence of the marriage of Joseph Getchell and Mary (Berry) Mitchell. The date matches the record in the Scarborough records. The following text is from the Notes of Machias.

Benjamin Foss, from Scarborough, 1765: Married first Sarah Getchell Nov. 7, 1762, and second Hannah Miller prior to 1800; nineteen children, sixteen of whom had families.

Next I take a look at the Original Records of Maine Towns and Cities: Town of Scarborough to see what records I can find in there.

[CD1 P189] Israel Mitchel + Mary Berry were married Dec. 24, 1730
[CD1 P200] Margret the daughter of Israel Mitchel and Mary his wife was born the 2nd Day of May 1743
[CD1 P206] Israill Mitchell ad Mary Beary his intention of marriage was entered ye 17th of October 1730.

Yes the spelling is that good in the records. I found nothing new in the records.

I am now thinking that I should look in the original records of Brunswick to see if there are any records that show the birth of Sarah or ties to Israel and Mary. However, I think I can conclude that since Mary was remarried to Joseph in 1750, Sarah would have only been 12 or younger when she was married in 1762 to Benjamin if Sarah was born as a result of that marriage.

7 Responses to Sarah Mitchell or Sarah Getchell

Very interesting!
Just wondering if you have George Everett Foss in your line. Hopefully correct: He was born 5 Sep 1858 in Wisconsin and died 16 Jun 1924 in Danforth, Maine. His parents were Edmund Foss (abt 1802 Lisbon, Maine – 1863 Calais, Maine) and Elizabeth, born about 1822 in New Brunswick, Canada. He married Melvina “Nellie” Outhouse, born 1861 in Hodgdon, Maine, daughter of Robert Henry and Mary Jane (Decker) Outhouse. This is the line of a Foss friend in Halifax, NS. For a different branch of Foss, a friend bought a photo on eBay of the Foss bros of Somerset County – they had all been in the Civil War – this was afterwards when they were in GAR.

I have also been investigating the marriage between Joseph Getchell (II? Sr?) 1726-1822, and Mary Berry Mitchell, in hopes of discovering who was mother to Joseph Getchell (III? Jr.?) 1757-1837. My research indicates that Joseph II was married to Mercy Hatch (died 1750), then to Mary Mitchell (died in 1753), so neither could have been mother to Joseph III, who is my 5-g grandfather.

We recently received by mail a copy of Joseph Getchell’s (born 26 Apr 1757) birth record from the Town of Scarborough. The record shows his parents were a Joseph and Mary Gatchell. This is some variation in the spelling of the last name. But this was not uncommon during that time.

Hi
I’m trying to find information on Ada L. Foss who married a Frank H. Preble. [Maine]
They had a son named Roland G. Preble who married a Priscilla P. Fish. I am trying to find the parents of Ada L. Foss.
Greg